5 things you need to do at this year’s Gympie Music Muster

Every August, the normally peaceful Amamoor Creek State Forest Park, South West of Gympie, comes alive with the sound of great music and good times for four glorious days. Like clockwork, thousands of revellers make the pilgrimage to pitch their tents, pull on their boots and celebrate the best of blues, roots and country at the Gympie Music Muster.

Spilling out over 50 hectares of bushland, you’ll find eight venues to watch the country’s finest musicians and plenty of one-of-a-kind bars to meet new mates. As they say, “there are no strangers at the Muster, only friends you haven’t met yet”.

This year’s line-up is so good you’ll be saying yee-haw in no time with the likes of Troy Cassar-Daley, Lee Kernaghan and Beccy Cole taking the stage.

So get your swag packed, set your boot scootin’ attitude high, and get ready for a bumpy ride! Here are 5 things you must do at this year’s Gympie Music Muster.

1. Get your dancing boots on

Featuring hundreds of performances across five stages, covering genres such as country, bluegrass, folk, blues and rockabilly, there is something for everyone. As Australia’s favourite outdoor country music and camping festival, the Gympie Music Muster is one part of Queensland’s ever-growing roster of country music festivals which are earning the state the title of Australia’s new home of country music.

2. Get up close and personal with the stars

Besides the thrill of dancing along to their live sets and getting within metres of the stars when they are rocking out on stage, you can have a chat and get a photo with them all off stage at ‘meet and greet’ sessions throughout the festival.

3. Grab a beer at a campsite bar

The Gympie Music Muster is known as one of the most unique music festivals in the country, and one of its most famous reasons amongst patrons are the quirky bars that pop up around the festival grounds.

From crowded country music merchandise clad bars equipped with counters made out of corrugated iron and wood, to the understated set up of a few couches and hammocks on the grass, there is a bar to suit everyone.

4. Unleash your inner poet

The Muster is a uniquely Australian event that features 100% homegrown talent, and if you consider yourself the next Walt Whitman or Maya Aneglou, it could be your opportunity practice your poems and wow the crowd with your words. Up for the challenge? Head to the iconic Poet’s Breakfast which kicks off every morning at 8:30am.

5. Learn to line dance

Three words: Seriously. Good. Fun.

Even if you lack coordination, you’ll enjoy slapping your thighs and tapping your boots in a line dance workshop. Learn new routines and master the heel-toe dance moves to show off to your friends back home.

Psst! Our line dancing song pick is Any Man of Mine by country music legend Shania Twain.

Other things to do while you’re in Gympie

Tucked within the hinterland between Noosa and Rainbow Beach, Gympie could quite possibly be the most under-rated part of the Sunshine Coast region. So, be camera-ready and explore the following spots:

Take the Tewantin to Gympie drive to see the white beaches of Noosa, peaceful lakes, and the hinterland of Pomona.

Stop by Gympie Memorial Park and have a cup of tea under the roof of the iconic gazebo that sits amongst the lush lawns and shady Jacaranda trees.

Author

Despite moving to the big smoke of Brisbane after growing up on the coast of Central Queensland, Emily is still a small country town girl at heart. A lover of sunshine and all things sweet, on a weekend it's a sure bet you can find Emily at the beach savouring a cookies and cream ice-cream.